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Puppies found with tails cut off at Black Country home

Five puppies were found with their tails illegally cut off at a Black Country home, a court heard.

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Owner Robert Lees pleaded guilty to five offences of tail docking at Wolverhampton Magistrates Court.

The court was told an animal welfare officer from Dudley Council visited Lees' home in Stepping Stones, Stourbridge, after receiving information about alleged dog breeding.

Once there, the officer found five spaniel puppies that appeared to have had their tails docked. Lees, aged 52, told the court the litter of puppies had been unplanned and denied he was a professional dog breeder.

He said he was advised by an associate that docking the tails of the dogs would make them more attractive as working dogs and make it easier to re-home them.

The defendant claimed he handed over £10 per puppy for it to be done by someone else. He was ordered to pay nearly £1,000 and complete 100 hours of unpaid work by the courts.

He was also made the subject of a 12-month community order and told to pay a total of £895.55 in court costs.

Nick Powell, head of environmental health and trading standards, said afterwards: "The council will not tolerate any actions that cause unnecessary suffering to animals."

Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, tail docking was banned in England and Wales.

However an exemption was put in place for spaniels, terriers and hunt, point and retrieve breeds that are used to work.

The owner or breeder must be able to prove that the puppies have been bred to work and have a certificate from the vet.

However, Lees was unable to produce any paperwork.

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